


strawberry_macaron

by mommywrites



Series: Random Akuma [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mommywrites/pseuds/mommywrites
Summary: There is a fan fiction writer under pseudonym strawberry_macaron publishing fan fiction (well not really fiction). Plenty of students admire the work, one classmate is the real author, another classmate takes credit, and someone else gets akumatized.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Random Akuma [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805482
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	strawberry_macaron

**Author's Note:**

> Not even original akuma, how lazy was I?  
> (It had to be non original)

“This strawberry_macaron is fantastic!” Alya exclaimed while she pushed her phone into the faces of the other girls.

Marinette blushed and bowed her head.

“Their work is so romantic.” Rose cooed. (She finds everything romantic, okay)

“Really good stuff.” Juleka muttered.

“I like it how they depict akuma battles.” Alix added.

“I almost failed my history assignment because I was reading all their stuff last night.” Mylenne added.

“History assignment?” Marinette squeaked.

“Yeah girl, don’t you know? We were supposed to find a historical novel that we intended to do a report on … “ Alya was explaining.

“Novel? History? Library! Yes! Got to go, see you in class!” Marinette was running away towards the library.

Marinette not only found a novel but the ever helpful librarian offered what to take and why. There fore, the girl was soon back in class and scribbled down the two sentences she needed to justify her choice. She found the rest of the Girl Squad in the same conversation she left them in.

“And the characters are so real!” Mylenne confirmed whatever Alya was saying. While she was absent, Adrien and Nino joined the girls in the conversation while Nathaniel and Ivan remained calm by their side, their attention captured in the conversation they were having.

Marinette ignored the rest of the conversation, she had to deal with the homework first, there was a preface and there was a note about the author that she intended to read before the class started. The girls continued to praise the work of the anonymous (or secret identity) author.

The class had started, to Marinette’s relief her idea for a historical novel for her assignment was accepted, and then she realized she took on a book of more than three hundred pages and wanted to smack her head in the desk.

“You have the next school period free to start on your work. You can ask any questions on our next class.” Ms Bustier instructed as she waved the students out from the classroom, they were going to study in another empty class.

“When will I do all my assignments Tikki?” Marinette whispered to her clutch bag, not that anyone would notice even if Tikki was out in the open, everyone was so consumed by something they were reading on their phones, which was the newest strawberry_macaron fiction, not that she noticed.

“Perhaps you should have been doing your school work last night instead of that most recent fanfic you posted?” Tikki teased.

“It was just to unwind, you know, I wasn’t able to fall asleep after that akuma and … “ Marinette trailed off, the girls were about to catch up with her. “Can you help me with my history novel?” The girl asked the goddess. “You did help me pick one up, but this is so long … “

“Don’t worry, you got it right, it will be easier for you than other books.” Tikki whispered comfortingly while the two of them were nearing the rest of the class again. But they were so engrossed in the story they were reading that nobody would notice anyway.

“When do they have the time to write any of this stuff?” Alix noted while she looked at her phone. “Just look at this, posted last night!”

“They probably write when they get a stroke of inspiration, or just need to vent out an idea, like me for my blog!” Alya shrugged.

“There is one more story from strawberry_macaron?” Juleka muttered.

“Yes, I did not get to read it just yet, I went to sleep before it was published.” Rose smiled dreamily. “I’m sure it is fantastic.”

The boys were reading the same stuff too (presumably), even Kim stared at his phone. She noticed that Adrien was reading too and then she blushed and hid her face instinctively, but he way quiet about it, did he like it like the girls or did he think it was dumb?

Marinette felt insecure. She started writing about the real akuma battles as a sort of stress release, it wasn’t like she could go to the school psychologist about that. And then she published one of those stories in a spur of the moment. And now she had a fan base, apparently.

‘Not another secret identity.’ Passed through her head, because now she had another secret in front of her friends. She made sure that none of her Ladybug secrets were revealed there, those were strictly for her diary, writing fan fiction was really just to relieve from the stress of the akuma battles.

“The strawberry_macaron stories are always about the most recent akuma battles.” Alya explained full of confidence. “I sometimes think they must type that while I’m doing my live coverage of the akuma battles.”

Marinette rolled her eyes fondly, the stories were seldom about the latest akuma battle, but for the last week it was true. Tikki was the one who read the stories for her and suggested which parts to drop because too much could be revealed. But she could tell her friends that it was her who wrote it, right?

“Strawberry_macaron?” Adrien perked up.

Okay, Marinette, breathe, you can tell them it was you later.

“Don’t start with that dude, Alya reads that stuff the whole time, you are going to get a whole lecture.” Nino explained.

“I don’t read that stuff all the time, I just discovered it recently, and they write such nice stories about the akuma battles, as if they were there with me, in fact, as if they were closer to the battle than me … “ Alya trailed off.

Adrien beamed at Alya. That assumption only confirmed his suspicion, because he read the stories, and there were just so many details that fit the reality, it was just too close to the truth. Although there were some parts that made him worried.

“Strawberry_macaron really depicted Chat Noir to the point, the mangy cat he is, and finally someone who debunked the myth of Ladybug and showed just what kind of a hero she is, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” Chloe cut in.

“What do you mean?” Alya, Marinette and Adrien spoke at the same time.

“The pathetic excuse for a person that is her civilian identity!” Chloe raised her nose. “Sabrina?” She held out her hand and Sabrina extracted a small notebook from her bag and gave it to the blonde heiress.

“She is lame, clumsy, has pathetic excuses for her absence, is so shy in front of her crush that she stutters and blushes and flails her arms in the air even while in suit?” Chloe raised her eyes towards the rest of the group. “Should I continue?”

“That doesn’t mean she is anything less of a hero!” Marinette protested.

“Ladybug is a wonderful person, she gives everyone a second chance!” Adrien cut in. But he read the stories and Ladybug did not describe herself in any kid of favouring way. And he really wondered how blind was that boy she liked.

“Adriekins?” Chloe screeched. “I can’t believe this.” She huffed and walked away.

“Tell me Adrien, are you reading strawberry_macaron?” Alya turned to the blonde model and asked knowingly what the only possible answer was.

“Oh yeah, I read the last one from last night … “ And the boy continued to gush about the story while Marinette lost all power of hearing. Adrien was reading her stories? The stories she wrote about Ladybug and Chat Noir, the way they were fighting?

“Oh Adrien.” Lila spoke in her falsely sweet voice. “I’m so glad you like the stories written by strawberry_macaron so much.” Marinette was suddenly on the highest alert level. Adrien felt the hair on his neck raise as if he was a real cat, he felt urge to hiss.

“Lila? Have you read the stories?” Rose piped in.

“Oh.” Lila had a secretive smile on her face.

“Have you read the one about Stoneheart? It was so romantic!” Mylenne cooed and smiled dreamily. “The one about Horrificator was also a good one.”

“Yeah, Reflecta too.” Juleka muttered.

They continued to discuss various akuma battles depicted in the stories. And Marinette was just about to speak up, to tell them all that it was her who wrote that and she appreciated the attention but it was time devoted to their schoolwork not discussing fan fiction.

She tried to collect her courage and admit that, but each time Adrien praised her work she felt a new blush raise to her face, he looked at her and smiled gently and she was gone, her gift of speech was gone, she just smiled back stupidly.

Adrien did his best not to praise the parts he admired the most, and those were the tiny details that he recognized from the interactions between Ladybug and Chat Noir, their small talk, the way she rolled her eyes or pushed him away gently.

Because strawberry_macaron always wrote about their friendship and never implied something more, she did not publish all the details about his advances and the way she politely refused them, but she did depict how much it hurt her too.

Secretly, he hoped that strawberry_macaron was in fact Ladybug herself, because there were details only the two of them knew, Plagg told him to stop drooling over the keyboard when he read it (or the phone or anything else) and not go into it too much, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Oh, thank you so much” Lila exclaimed and surprised everyone. “I just can’t hold it in any more, I am strawberry_macaron.”

“What?” Adrien actually jumped away from Lila.

“What?” Marinette mouthed helplessly. She was ready to jump on that fellow student and rip her eyes out.

“Girl, why didn’t you tell me before?” Alya was the first to ask. The rest of the class cooed.

Marinette felt a huge headache. This wasn’t happening. It just wasn’t.

To Adrien, a few things started to make sense, the way Ladybug wrote about herself, the way she pointed out her errors as the biggest failures that mankind had ever committed, the way she often expressed how insecure she was about the whole thing.

And Lila did not like Ladybug, he knew that.

“I started to write about all the akuma that went about the city, and then I started to publish because several famous writers told me it was a shame to be left sitting on my computer.” Lila continued her self praise but Adrien wasn’t listening.

Adrien had read each fan fiction from strawberry_macaron, he made a point of reading it, and the event where Ladybug debunked Lila as not her friend at all was depicted there, although with a different name used for Lila, and Volpina was described right after that.

And it wasn’t full of understanding for the victim as all other akuma stories were. But there was that self doubt as Ladybug blamed herself for getting Lila akumatized in the first place, and he was certain that Lila blamed her too. Was he really reading and enjoying something Lila wrote?

The fact that he practically memorized each word of that story, because of how strawberry_macaron depicted him, Adrien, and how Ladybug was ready to sacrifice her earrings for him when Volpina threatened to throw the illusion of him from the Eiffel Tower …

“What about Volpina?” Echoed through the classroom and the chatter stopped abruptly. Everyone turned towards Marinette who asked the question, her eyes glowed with determination that was rather familiar to Adrien. He smiled, his everyday Ladybug was reading his mind.

“Marinette, that wasn’t fair!” Alya warned.

“You wrote about Volpina too?” Rose cooed.

“I missed that one.” Juleka muttered.

“I had to describe that one too, I was particularly stressed that day. But please do not read that one, it is really bad and I had to invent a few events that did not really happen ...” Lila was smiling to everyone, but glared towards Marinette as soon as nobody was watching.

Marinette knew what she wrote there, and it was bad, it was really bad for Lila, and she even made it better than it was, because she did not mention the book at all.

Adrien rolled back the memories from fiction he read, Chameleon was missing the part where Lila kissed him, whoever wrote the fiction, did not know that part, but the battle with the akuma later did not miss a beat. Maybe Lila omitted that on purpose?

“You know, Ladybug is my best friend and she comes over after each battle to vent out her frustrations and that is how I know all these details, but sometimes I have to invent a few things to cover up for our identities.” Lila basked in attention.

Marinette felt desperate, how did Lila construct such believable lies this time? Other times her stories were so far fetched, but this time she shot so close to the truth that it was impossible to refute without revealing her identity, both as a writer and as a hero.

It was a lost cause, Adrien felt desperate, sickened with his own pleasure in reading the fiction written by Lila. But wait! When did she ever tell the truth? This was a lie! It had to be a lie! He just had to find a proof, he scrolled through his phone and tried to remember anything.

He knew which fiction definitely cemented his resolve that Lila lied, it was about Oni Chan, and the way Lila was depicted there was indeed not flattering, although the author used a different name, and never described how Lila entered his house, but did depict the photo with a kiss.

Adrien pretended he was working on his assignment, but instead he focused on the fan fiction on his tablet and started to make notes, each detail that wasn’t that visible on the Ladyblog, each feeling, each private exchange, whoever wrote that knew the details of their exchange.

Was it even remotely possible that Lila was strawberry_macaron? No, he was determined that it wasn’t. Maybe the author wasn’t really Ladybug, but he was certain that Lila wasn’t one!

“I’m glad you have an honest depiction of your actions in Oni Chan.” Adrien noted. He watched her reaction and did not miss the moment when she flinched and glared back, but soon she was back to her usual false sweetness, no wander his father adored her, she was better than him in that.

“I had to write badly about myself so nobody would guess it was me.” Lila feigned shyness. She did not read the story, she barely read more than only a few, and that was during the first period, because she wasn’t reading the stuff until she heard how the girls adored to read it.

Marinette felt how fume started to smoke from her ears. She determinedly opened her book and started to read and then tried to make some meaningful notes, but she was interrupted every now and then by excited claims from one student or another.

The audacity, of Lila, to claim she wrote the strawberry_macaron fan fiction! When it was Marinette who wrote it! The Ladybug herself was writing about herself. And, for the most part, it wasn’t even fiction, it was her own venting out mechanism.

At first, she just started to write, to type, the words flowed from her fingers onto the screen, her thoughts, her frustrations, she wrapped up the events of the day, the latest akuma fight, anything, and it made her feel better about what she’s been through.

Then, one evening, Alya made her read one of the stories, a fan fiction about Ladybug and Chat Noir, it was about an akuma battle, totally wrong and unreal, she went to her notes on the day and decided to post it (after editing initiated by Tikki).

She had to remind herself why she continued to post it after that first one that got out on a whim. It was the comments, soothing and encouraging at the same time, the way they praised Ladybug and started to see her as a real human being, and not judgemental.

Save a troll or two!

Besides, she even gained knowledge, useful information that she was able to use in subsequent battles. Yes, she was worried that Hawk Moth was reading it too, but it was a fan fiction site, was Hawk Moth really that desperate to read anything there, and to take strawberry_macaron seriously?

“You did not write about that Oblivio fight.” Alya teased Lila. Adrien blushed at the words, there wasn’t much he remembered, but the photo he saw but did not remember doing what was on it. “You should write about that! I’m sure you were the first person Ladybug went to after that.”

Marinette released her breath slowly, but her face was red in anger, no, she did not want Lila to take the fame of writing that fan fiction no more than she wanted anything written about that incident, she did not remember it, although it haunted her even more after the events of Chat Blanc.

Adrien decided to focus on the book assignment. He already read too much fan fiction as it was, he avoided those related to Oblivio, it hurt too much, there were too many theories and some were hard to read, so he stopped. Besides, he often had theories of his own.

Marinette noticed how Adrien was bent over his book, perhaps that was what she was supposed to be doing too, they did have the study session and if there was no akuma attack, then she might as well work on her history assignment.

The theories and ideas were sipping from her classmates, and Lila continued to take praise and accept suggestions with an excuse that she could not possibly to find the time, but perhaps and maybe, if she got help about this and that.

Marinette barely had half a page of notes when principle Damocles burst into the office. He was dressed in the Owl suit. Most of the students chuckled, few of them laughed, Adrien observed the principal carefully, but Marinette was the first one to notice that something was wrong.

“I am the Dark Owl!” The akuma announced. “There is a fan fiction writer, strawberry_macaron, and they wrote about me! They disclosed my identity! They dared to write the identity of the Owl hero to the world. Now I am going to reveal the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir ...”

Marinette was on her hands and feet after the first few words, she crawled underneath the bench and out from the classroom while the Dark Owl was speaking. If she was right, all she had to do was to sneak out, transform and reach the principals office.

“Don’t worry! We will protect you Lila!” Kim shouted and raised on his feet ready to fight the akuma. The rest of the class surrounded the girl ready to defend their favourite author from the next akuma. And then Marinette turned around, she had to bring her classmates to safety first.

“You!” A violet mask was glowing on the face of the Dark Owl. “You were writing that fan fiction?” He took a few steps towards Lila, but the students huddled closer together. Then he reached for his weapon at his waist.

Adrien stood in the doorway unsure if he should stay and protect his classmates as a civilian or run away and transform. It was a precious moment he was loosing there, he remembered how the akumatized object wasn’t on the Dark Owl the last time, he had to leave, but his friends were in danger, because they defended the liar.

“Oh, Principal Damocles … “ Lila had a sly grin on her face while she spoke, but then she noticed surprised faces on Kim and Alya and remembered that maybe she should have chosen a different look. “I mean the Dark Owl.” She cried and feigned tears.

“We will defend you Lila!” Rose piped in bravely and tried to stare down the akuma.

“We will not let the akuma go after a piece of good writing!” Mylenne stood by Rose on one side.

“You are not going to hurt her.” Juleka muttered.

“Go away, Dark Owl.” Kim straightened up as he tried to look bigger.

“Good writing?” The akuma shouted. “Writing? You are a writer? You are strawberry_macaron? Was it you who disclosed my identity!” Dark Owl took one step closer to the group of students huddled together.

“I’m so sorry principal Damocles, I did not mean to … “ Lila feigned tears.

“Of course you meant it! What do you mean? Us writers have to always tell the truth!” Alya cut in.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“I am the Dark Owl!” The akuma shot back and raised the arm with a weapon in his hand.

“Dark Owl! Of course.” Lila grinned. “I did not mean to hurt you.” She looked in all directions in panic. She needed a way out and she needed it fast.

Marinette, on the other hand was already out from the door, but her classmates were in danger, Alya was in danger, Adrien was in danger, she had to go back, she could not just leave and run and hide and transform, because it might be too late when she returned as Ladybug.

“Everyone, go towards the door!” Marinette finally shouted and stepped inside the classroom, right by confused Adrien who decided to follow her inside. She was angry, her friends were in danger because they were defending the liar, she had to make them go to safety first.

“Please don’t leave me alone to the mercy of this akuma and Hawk Moth.” Lila whined.

Several glares were pointed in Marinette’s direction.

“Lila … “ Adrien was feeling helpless, he wanted to smother her with his own hands … well he was a bit disgusted with the idea of touching her … she twisted anything Marinette said, he had to do something to protect his friends, Marinette included.

“All right, take her with you, but run for safety!” Marinette begged her classmates as she tried to stand between Adrien and the akuma who glared back at both of them.

“We are not laving you to face the akuma alone, Lila.” Juleka muttered and glared back at the akuma determinedly.

“Yes, we are defending strawberry_macaron to our last breath.” Alix exclaimed.

“You are strawberry_macaron!” Dark Owl practically howled.

“Oh just give up on those strawberries and macarons already!” Hawk Moth released a frustrated whine that echoed all around his lair. “And find Ladybug and Chat Noir already!”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Dark Owl exclaimed. “This girl here, a student, she was writing about you and me instead of working on her homework, probably … “

Marinette gulped audibly, but Adrien was the only one who was close enough to hear her, he looked at her and she blushed, he smiled, she blushed some more, he tried to look reassuring, but she just stared back confused and flustered. The rest of the akuma speech was lost for both.

“I did not have the time to finish my report in time because I had to work for charity for Prince Ali and … “ Lila was rambling an excuse.

“But when did you write the fan fiction then?” Alya whispered then covered her mouth.

Lila glared back only for a moment.

“Oh, silly me, I wrote it … “ She was looking at Alya. But then Dark Owl screamed and she shifted towards the akuma who was ready to strike. Lila hid behind Kim who straightened up protectively together with Ivan, but both shivered.

“Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Alya pressed on her phone frantically.

“They are as useless as ever.” Chloe protested and raised from her seat. “Come on, principal Damocles, go back to you office or I’ll call daddy!” She waved her phone in the face of the akuma.

Dark Owl actually took a few steps away from the kids and towards the door. The violet mask on his face shone more brightly.

“No!” Hawk Moth exclaimed in his lair. “You are my akuma, you listen to me! Now let’s go and find Ladybug and Chat Noir!” He ordered.

“Why would you defend her, Chloe? She is a bad person and a bad writer! Do you know what she wrote about your daddy?” Dark Owl shot back. “I mean, mayor Bourgeois, of course!” He corrected himself. The comments earned a few frowns from the classmates.

“Of course I know!” Chloe shot back. “I mean, not that I read any of that stuff.” Yes she read each word as religiously as Alya, and probably found that author much sooner, yes much sooner than Alya. “But I care to stay informed.” She observed her nails.

“Didn’t read?” Alya laughed. “Come on, we all know you are royal_honey and the way you write stuff about yourself.” There were traces of suppressed laughter from other students, Alix and Kim did not even bother to hide they were laughing.

“Nobody appreciated me not Queen Bee.” Chloe scoffed. She wasn’t going to dispute the claim, she did take pride in her work, she even bragged about it herself from time to time (and made her class read it, and if they criticised, well they read it, right?)

“strawberry_macaron did not write so nice about you, nor your parents.” Dark Owl noted.

“We are not supposed to be nice, that is why we are at the top.” Chloe responded with air of superiority.

“Chloe … “ Adrien tried to intervene. The rest of the class simply glared at the heiress.

“She wrote with disrespect for the major, for your mother, for you and for me, the school principal.” Dark Owl hit his chest.

“That is just a pile of empty words, an entertainment for the poor masses who can’t afford anything like my nice new purse and jacket, did you see?” She posed with her purse more visible.

Most of the class rolled their eyes.

Marinette knew she had to do something, this was going too far, Hawk Moth now knew about strawberry_macaron writing, it was a bad idea to post that and she knew it, but maybe all was not lost, maybe there was a way to fix this.

“Principal Damocles.” Marinette stepped in with confidence. “It is just fan fiction. Why do you take it so seriously? Why would anyone take it seriously? It is supposed to be fiction, not the truth!” The last thing she needed was for Hawk Moth to lookup for her writing.

“Yeah, why do you care, now forget about stupid girl with too much time on her hands and go after Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Hawk Moth ordered in his lair.

“Yes!” Dark Owl grinned. “You have that lying disease! You have to tell lies, that is what is wrong with you, that is what made you write that but … wait … I am the Owl, I mean the Dark Owl, I mean … I was the Owl, so that was the truth.” He rubbed his head with the hand that still held his weapon.

The class was appalled, several students stared at Lila, some scratched their heads, others frowned.

“What is he talking about Lila?” Kim uttered.

“A laying disease … “ Max started to lament statistics and data about the psychological disorder while the fact that one of his most trusted classmates in fact had it was yet to sink in.

“See?” Marinette cut in and stepped right in front of the akuma. “You should not be bothered with Lila, she is just inventing stories, simple fan fiction, a product of someone’s imagination, completely unrelated to reality, nothing important … “

“What do you mean nothing important?” Lila protested. “Everyone adores my stories. I’m the most popular writer.” She exclaimed victoriously with a sly smile. The fact was only made worse with other students who nodded or even cheered to confirm the claim.

“You lied! Yo always tell lies. How should anyone know what’s true? You invented and wrote and told stories about me just to make yourself popular!” The akuma raised his hand with the weapon and threw the weapon towards Lila.

The students heard him, word for word, but it did not sink in, not just yet, because they were in danger, there was this threat of the akuma just before them and they needed to fight or flight and not think about what he just said.

Alix was the one who pushed Lila out of the way and the weapon slammed in the wall behind, it created a small hole before it bounced back and straight into the hands of the Dark Owl. Alix and Lila slammed into the side wall and fell onto the floor.

“I didn’t … “ Lila protested and rubbed her head where she hit it in the side wall when she fell. Several students glared towards her. “I mean I did … “ She corrected herself, little dizzy and unsure how to continue. She noticed how Max and Kim frowned. “I mean, I didn’t … “

At first, Adrien was extremely worried for his classmates and quickly jumped forward and pushed Alya and Nino to safety, but when he noticed that his friends were safe, he did not even try to remove the self satisfied smirk from his face that appeared when he noticed Lila’s confusion.

This was going nowhere, Marinette concluded, there was no way for her to persuade her classmates to go to safety and now Adrien was in the middle of the endangered crowd, there was only one way to make them safe, and that was to lure the akuma out from the classroom.

“It was me!” Marinette exclaimed and quickly jumped in front of the Dark Owl. “I am strawberry_macaron and I wrote those stories and I’m sorry I disclosed your secret identity in one of them. I changed everyone’s names so you can’t be recognized. I’m sorry.”

The akuma frowned at her, but that was where his attention was, and that was what she wanted. Now she had to keep his attention on herself and make him follow after her and our from the classroom, and then she had to flee, hide and transform, but that was to be dealt with later.

Lila glared back.

Adrien beamed with pride.

The rest of the class did not care much for what Marinette was telling the akuma as long as he wasn’t using his weapon on them. Their class president provided a distraction and they were grateful for it.

Marinette took a few step backward towards the door while the akuma followed first with his eyes and then made a reluctant step in her direction.

“Come on, it is me you want.” Marinette continued as she stepped into the door. She knew she had to run away and hide and transform and there was no way for her to get her powers while the akuma was able to see her, but she had to lead him away.

Adrien entertained the idea that Marinette was indeed the author, his thoughts were Evilustrator and he grinned, yeah, there were details in that fight that only him and Marinette knew, not even Ladybug, she wasn’t there. And Marinette did not tell about that to Lila, for sure.

He suddenly realized that Dark Owl raised his weapon again and aimed at Marinette. He wasn’t having that, oh no, there she was, Marinette, his everyday Ladybug, protecting her friends, her class, even Lila, from the akuma, and exposed herself as she tried to keep them all safe.

That was his job.

He was Chat Noir.

Adrien jumped and caught Marinette, they rolled over the floor after they landed, while the weapon hit the door with all its force and created a huge hole before it bounced back to the akuma. When they stopped on the floor, Adrien was on top of Marinette, very flustered Marinette.

“She did not write those stories, I did, she’s lying. She just wants fame, she just wants to be the centre of attention, to be praised and adored” Lila hissed to the students who were all around her, all of the huddled together on the floor.

“Shhh. She is just trying to protect us.” Alya put her index finger over her mouth, but it was too late, the akuma heard them and turned around.

He had to get up, he was on top of his classmate, but suddenly the idea that she wrote those stories, that she was indeed strawberry_macaron occupied his thoughts, because if Adrien knew anyone capable of such creativity, it was her, Marinette.

Marinette … wasn’t thinking at all. The classmates and the akuma were long forgotten, as well as the need to escape and transform, the only part of her brain that at least pretended to work was the one that registered warm green eyes in close proximity to her own, and his breath, and his weight.

“Um .. sorry.” Adrien muttered and pushed himself up and then sat beside her. He put his hand below her shoulder and pulled her up to sit beside him, she did not look too good, all red in the face and she breathed erratically, her pulse was too fast. “Are you okay?” He whispered.

Marinette was not responding.

“Did you get hurt? Did I push you too hard?” Adrien had no idea how to examine his dear friend for injuries. “Did you hit your head somewhere?” He touched her face. “You’re so hot … “ He looked more carefully, he had no idea one was able to turn red in the face because of a concussion.

There was no hope for Marinette to gain any coherent thoughts, let alone words in her mouth, and Tikki knew it was pure luck that the girl continued to breathe in that situation. The tiny goddess of creation patted the thigh of her chosen through the purse and hoped that would somehow work.

“I’m hot?” Marinette whispered then flailed her hands around her head. “No! I mean … you’re hot!” Then her eyes went wide. “No, not hot you’re … “ She covered her red face with her hands. “I am hot ...” He smiled at her words. “Not like that, hot stuff.” And then she covered her mouth to stop talking.

Adrien chuckled.

But then there was a scream from the other side of the classroom and both of them jumped to their feet, both assumed fighting positions and faced the direction of the scream.

“Let her go!” Alix screamed as a warrior before she jumped on a bench and then on top of the head of the Dark Owl.

The akuma held Lila by her hair and pulled in one direction while Kim and Ivan held her legs, one each, and pulled in the other direction. Lila was screaming.

But Dark Owl had magical powers, and the students did not have much chance, the next second he carried Lila away as he escaped from the classroom and ran away while he carried Lila over his shoulder and called for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Marinette ran after the akuma into the corridor. It was useless to try and get his attention, she had to go and find a place to transform, there was a bathroom on the way to the office of the school principal, it was the fastest way.

Adrien was barely a step behind her, but she turned to one side, he chose the one in the opposite direction, he had to transform and then he was going to fetch the class president and take her to safety if she went after the akuma again.

Ladybug did not even bother to search for the akuma, nor to make sure Lila was safe, she brought it onto herself, there was that small part of her that was even glad for that, because she heard the liar scream how she did not write a single word of fan fiction from the rooftop.

Chat Noir, on the other hand first sneaked around the akuma and made sure that Marinette was nowhere in sight. He remembered how the last time the akumatized object was in the office, he was able to destroy it, but he needed Ladybug to cleanse the butterfly.

He hid behind a rooftop ventilation device and opened his communicator, he quickly searched for the location of his partner that has, however, indicated that his partner was indeed close, right there in school, probably on the floor below him.

The red hero with black spots entered the office through the window. She hit the computer screen on the desk with her yoyo and it smashed into pieces, but there was no butterfly. She tired a few more items, like the keyboard and the mouse, but nothing worked.

“Any luck so far, my lady?” Chat teased from the window.

“Can’t find what is it this time? Perhaps it is on him?” She inquired. But then she sighed and called her power. She got a small earpiece and looked at it confused.

“Does he use a hearing aid?” Chat frowned.

“I didn’t no...” She wanted to say how she did not notice, but that might have been a giveaway of her identity. “No, I did not see it on the akuma … “ She trailed off and looked around.

“As far as I know he was looking for a fan fiction author that goes under strawberry_macaron.” Chat grinned and pronounced the last two words in a way that had to reveal that he was familiar with the works.

Ladybug blushed, so he read her short stories too.

The blush was everything that Chat needed, he often entertained the thought that those stories were written by Ladybug herself, because there were certain details to their conversations that only two of them knew.

“Don’t tell me … you read fan fiction … about us?” Ladybug reasoned with herself that it was perfectly reasonable to show that she was annoyed by that, because she was, she really was, she wasn’t reading it, much, and what she wrote wasn’t even fiction …

“And you don’t?” He teased. “Never?” He smirked. “And you are not familiar with the works of strawberry_macaron?”

“We are in a middle of an akuma battle Chaton.” She sighed, she was annoyed, she really was, and nervous, that he saw right through her, which he did.

“So you do not read and do not write any of the fan fiction about us?” He continued to tease, but he also made himself busy, he clawed the carpet, the curtains and the cover on the chairs. There was no violet butterfly there.

“And you do?” She replied incredulously, nothing around her looked like an object that was akumatized. What if this time the object was on the akuma himself.

“Sometimes … “ Chat admitted. “I get bored while I … do what I do … so I read it on my phone, sometimes I just use this special application to read the story to me if I can’t look at the phone while I … do what I do.”

“You listen? From you phone?” Ladybug’s eyes went wide.

“Actually, there is this device I have ...” Chat quickly realized what they were looking for.

“And where do you keep it?” She urged.

“I keep it … in my school bag but if I were a school principal it would have been ...” He trailed off.

“In your briefcase.” Ladybug exclaimed and raised the briefcase victoriously.

“It is locked.” She deflated as she tried to open it.

“Allow me.” Chat grinned and destroyed it with his cataclysm. A violet butterfly floated out. Ladybug caught it and cleansed it quickly.

“So, you never answered, have you never read or wrote any fan fiction about us?” Chat smirked.

“Fan fiction? About us?” Ladybug glared. “What kind of a person would I be if I was a fan of myself?” She crossed her arms. “On the other hand, I can clearly see someone who would be able to do just that.” She leaned over towards him to make it clear she was thinking of him.

“No! I just read it because I’m such a big fan of you!” He responded quickly.

Ladybug was ready to continue their banter but her earrings beeped that she was on her last minute.

They quickly bumped their fists as Ladybug sputtered her greetings and tried to run away as fast as she could, there was no way she was going to admit she wrote it, and she did not want to lie.

She quickly threw the earpiece in the air and called for magical Ladybugs to cleanse everything before she jumped through the window. That was the only solution for her, to run away and avoid any further conversation, but she needed a story for the next time they met.

“I really thought you were strawberry_macaron.” Chat whispered to himself before he jumped out through the window too. Very confused principal Damocles was on the rooftop and scratched his head, while Lila was there, frowned with her arms crossed.

“Where am I?” The school principal inquired.

“You were akumatized.” Chat quickly responded and interrupted Lila who was ready to give her own explanation. He quickly took the large man. “Let me take you back to your office, sir.”

“Oh, was it about that fan fiction?” Principal frowned.

“Don’t worry about it, the author made sure to change everyone’s names, nobody knows it was you.” Chat tried to sound comforting.

“But I know and everyone who reads it knows that the Owl got akumatized into the Dark Owl.” The man muttered.

“It is not so bad.” Chat winked. Everyone knew that, it wasn’t a secret anyway. “Plenty of people got akumatized, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Right.” The man grinned and sat by his desk.

Marinette sneaked out from the toilet, she needed to get into the locker room and get a macaron for Tikki, she just used the one from her purse and she wanted more from her storage in her locker.

Chat landed in the locker room and detransformed. Adrien tossed a piece of cheese to his hungry kwami who ate it in one large bite. He was ready to get out when he noticed that Marinette entered the locker room and rummaged through the contents of her locker.

Marinette finally found her box of macarons and took out a pink one. She smiled and slammed the door shut before she put it into her purse for later.

“Hey Marinette.” Adrien, who was hiding behind the open door of her locker greeted.

“Adrien.” She replied in a tone that was at least octave higher than normal.

“I wanted to ask you … did you really write those stories?” He grinned crookedly. “Are you writing fan fiction about Chat Noir? And Ladybug?” He remembered rather clearly how she admitted she was fan of Chat Noir (after she told him she loved him, and her dad got akumatized).

“Me? Fan fiction? Fan? Heh heh silly … fan of me?” But then she backed off. “I mean a fan, not of me, of course, but Chat Noir!” She corrected. Adrien smiled gently.

“And Ladybug?” He inquired.

Marinette was not able to say she was a fan of Ladybug because that meant she was fan of herself. She needed to say something, quickly, brain, produce words!

“And you.” She added. Then she slapped her hand over her mouth.

“Yeah, I know.” He chuckled.

She remembered how she told him that before, of course, yes she told him that, so she responded with one nod and lowered her hand.

“So, are you writing any fan fiction about Chat Noir, if you are his fan?” Adrien leaned in very close to her face.

“I … um … fan. Fiction?” She needed to reply to that. If she said no, it was a lie, but not really, becaue it wasnt fiction, strictly speaking. If she confirmed then he was going to asked her to read it, or maybe not? And if she said she was strawberry_macaron, he might think she was asking for attention. She raised her hands defensively.

“Yes, you see, I thought you might be the author that uses a name strawberry_macaron.” He pointed with his index finger to the pink macaron in her left hand. His brain and processed a few details from the stories where Chat Noir and Marinette interacted and there were too many correct details for him to ignore.

“Yes!” She confirmed and he grinned, his warm eyes looked so happy. But suddenly her expression flinched. “This.” She pointed to the pink macaron with the index finger on her right hand. “This is a strawberry macaron … would you … like one?”

“Well, I was thinking of the author, not the sweet?” His smile reduced to a gentle smile. Maybe Marinette wasn’t his favourite author?

“Oh, yes, of course.” She quickly put the macaron in her purse and opened her locker. “I have here … “ She was looking for that special macaron that she made for Adrien, but where did she put it this time? Why was it missing just now, when she had the perfect chance.

“Did you write the works of strawberry_macaron, Marinette?” Adrien repeated the question one last time, he had no way of telling her how he knew that she was a fan of Chat Noir without revealing his identity, and it was telling that there was no story related to Weredad.

“Here it is.” She finally produced a macaron.

“Oh, that one is my favourite, thanks Marinette.” He accepted the macaron and smiled.

She watched him open the macaron and take the first bite, she smiled dreamily, she finally gave him the macaron.

“So, what about the strawberry macaron?” He asked and smiled. He wasn’t really asking about the writing, he was asking about the treat he saw her put in her purse moments ago.

“Oh … that.” Marinette contemplated for a second, to lie or not to lie, maybe this was something she was able to be honest about, he liked her work. “Yes! I’m strawberry_macaron and wrote that!” She confirmed. But then she realized what she had done. “Please … don’t tell anyone.” She added.

“Um, yeah, I understand why you don’t want anyone to know after everything that happened today.” He chuckled. “I just want you to know, I really like your work, it is amazing, you’re amazing Marinette.” He smiled gently.

And the girl had to remember how to breathe.

“But that wasn’t … “ That wasn’t what he was asking. “I was wondering about your strawberry macaron, the one you had in your hands, aren’t you … going to eat it?”

“I am strawberry_macaron … “ She trailed off. “I mean um strawberry macaron?” She looked at her hand that was empty.

“You put it into your purse.” Adrien offered.

Marinette opened her purse but a pair of blue eyes blinked back, Tikki already ate the macaron.

“Um … it looks like … it is not here any more.” She quickly closed her bag. “Maybe I … dropped it somewhere … yeah?” She did not sound sure of her own words.

“Hm” Adrien frowned. Marinette pretended she was looking for the macaron.

“Maybe I dropped it and some animal picked it up and ate it already?” She offered as an explanation.

“An animal?” He inquired.

“Yes, like a rat? Or a cockroach?” She shrugged.

“Or a mouse?” He leaned into her and smirked.

“Or a mouse.” She confirmed quickly, and squeaked, yes, she definitely sounded like a mouse, an Adrien definitely looked like a cat who was playing with one.

He smirked and observed her, he remembered Multimouse and he wanted to ask her about it, but that was for Chat Noir, not Adrien.

“So, you write fan fiction?” He smirked instead.

“Please … don’t?” Marinette begged.

“Um, I was thinking … you like fashion … and you told me you’re my fan … “ He leaned in so closely that his breath touched her face. “so … are you writing any fan fiction … about me?”

**Author's Note:**

> And Marinette fainted?  
> No, she spent the next hour removing her fan fiction about Adrien and certain baker's daughter from the web?  
> She wrote but never posted?  
> Can't really decide, so the story stops here.


End file.
